Safety-latch for elevator-doors.



l. H. STEWART.

SAFETY LATCH FOR ELEVATOR DOORS.

APPucATloN FILED FEB. 25. 191e.

l 203,931. L Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

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JOI-IN H. STEWART, OF JAMAICA, NEW YORK, A-SSIGNOR TO STEWART ELEVATOR SAFETY LATCH CO. INC., OF QUEENS COUNTY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

SAFETY-LATCH FOR ELEVATOR-DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. STEWART, a subject of the King of England, residing at Jamaica, in the county o-f Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety- Latches for Elevator-Doors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specilisation.

This invention relates to safety appliances for elevators, and has for its object to provide simple and improved means for locking the controller lever on an elevator when the doors on any particular landing are unlocked.

The invention contemplates the use of a pair of hinged doors, and a further object is to provide means for locking the controller lever when either one of the doors is unlocked, so that even if both doors are closed, the elevatorcannot be started if either door is unlocked.

The invention will be first hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and then more specifically described in the claims at the end of the description.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views: Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of an elevator and a pair of doors leading to the elevator shaft, showing my safety appliance in position to lock the doors and permit the controller lever to be moved for starting the elevator. Fig. 2 is a detailed View of the spring-pressed frame or lever carrying the yoke for engaging and locking the controller lever. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through a portion of the elevator, the shaft and one door, showing the position of the parts as in Fig. 1 but drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the doors are unlocked and the controller lever secured against movement for starting the elevator. Fig. 5 is a detailed face view of the pivoted end of the door locking lever, showing its raised position in solid lines and its lowered position in dotted lines, the lposition of itsy offset wings being the same in both instances. Fig. 6 is a broken detailed view of .the means for latching the two doors together and supporting the door locking lever 1n horizontal position. Fig. 7 is a detailed view of the hooked catch on the door across which the door locking lever is adapted to extend. Fig. 8 is a broken detailed view of the outer end portion of the latch on the other door, and Fig. 9 is a broken detailed View showing how the latch cannot support the door locking lever when the other door is not fully closed.

The elevator 2 may be electrically driven 1n the shaft 1 by any known system controlled by the hand lever 3 arranged on one side of the elevator. The doorways leading to theshaft are each closed by a pair of doors 4 and 5 as illustrated in Fig. 1, said doors being hinged to the opposite sides of the doorway.

A frame or lever 6 is mounted on the outside of the wall of the elevator. which supports the controller arm 3, and is equipped at one end with a. yoke Sprojecting through a slot 9 in said wall of the elevator in line with the controller arm 3 when the latter is in position to stopthe elevator. This frame or lever 6 is pivotally mounted on a spring hinge 7 which normally holds it in the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 where the voke 8 is withdrawn from the controller arm 3. On its other end, the frame or lever 6 carries a vertical plate 1() having curved ends 11 and projecting beyond the wall of the elevator near to the wall of the shaft having the doorways.

The door 4 is. hinged at 4a adjacent the path of movement of the plate 10 as the elevator is moved up and down the shaft, while Ythe door is correspondingly hinged to the opposite side of the doorway. To the side of the doorway bearing the hinges 4a, a door locking lever 12 is pivoted at 13. This lever 12 is .adapted to extend almost entirely across the door 4 when the latter is closed. The pivoted end of said lever has opposite offset wings 14 which are adapted to engage the plate 10 on the frame 6, when the lever 12 is either raised or lowered, and move said frame 6 from the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 to the position shown in 4 where the yoke 8 embraces the controller arm 3. When the lever 12 is in horizontal position as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the wings 14 will not engage the plate 10.

' The door 5 may be locked in closed posif tion in any suitable manner, as by the floor latch 21. The door 4 is locked to the door 5, when both doors are closed, by a. latch 16 on the door 5 adapted to engage a hooked keeper 15 on the door 4. The latch 16 is of peculiar formation being providedwith an outwardly bent hooked-shaped Vend 17, be yond the portion which engages the eeper 15, for supporting the door locking lever 12 in horizontal position when both doors are closed and locked together by having the latch 16 engaged with the keeper 15. The latch 16 is free to swing below as well as above the horizontal plane of its pivot 19, and when said latch is not engaged with and supported by the keeper 15, the weight of the lever 12 will cause the latch to swing downward, as illustrated Yin F ig. 9, allowing said level' 12 to escape or pass through the outwardly bent hooked end 17 of the latch. The inner end of the latch 16 is weighted, as at 20, to normally hold the outer end of the same in raisel position above the keeper 15 when the doors are unlocked.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that in order to support the leverlQ in horizontal position both doors must be closed so that thekeeper 15 will be arranged'belowV the outer end of the latch 16 protruding from the latch casing 18, and that when said lever 12 is not supported in horizontal position but either raised or lowered as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the wings 14 willmove the frame 6 into the position where the yoke 8 embraces the controller arm 3 and prevents the elevator from being started. If the door 4 is not closed, the keeper 15 will not be in position to support the latch 16, and the lever 12 cannot be retained in horizontal position and consequently the elevator cannot be started. On the other hand, if the door 4 is closed and the door 5V opened, the lever 12 cannot be retained in horizontal position because it is not long enough to engage the keeper 15.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination, with an elevator shaft, of doors leading thereto,a door lock ing lever having an odset wing near its pivot, an elevator, a controller arm on the elevator, a lever on the elevator having a yoke on one end adapted to embrace the controller arm and lock the same against movement, the otherend of said yoke carrying lever extending into the path of the offset wing on the vdoorl locking lever and adapted to be engaged by said wing for moving the yoke into position to embrace the controller arm when the door locking lever is releasedk shaft, of doors leading thereto, a door locking lever havmgoppositely extending oset wings near its pivot, an elevator, a control-V ler arm on the elevator, a lever on the elevator, having a yoke on one end adapted to embrace the controller arm and lock the same against movement, the other end of said yoke carrying lever extending into the path of the olfset wings on the door locking lever and adapted to beengaged by said wings for moving the yoke into position to embrace the controller arm when the door locking lever is swung either up or down from locking position, and means for supporting said door locking lever in substantially horizontal 'position when the doors are closed.

3. The combination, 'with an elevator shaft, of two doors leading thereto and hinged at opposite edges, means for locking one door closed, a combined latch and keeper pivoted to said door,..a keeper on the other door arranged to be engaged by.A the combined latch and keegeron the rst door, a lever extending across the second door but terminating short of the keeper thereon, said lever being adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position by the combined latch and keeper on the first door when the same is in engagement with the keeper on second door, an elevator, a controller arm on the elevator, and means for:

engaged by the combined latch and keeper on the rst door when the second door is closed, the weighted end of said combined latch and keeper normally holding its outerfend above said keeper on the second door, a lever extending across the second door but terminating short of the keeper thereon, said lever being adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position by, the combined latch and keeper when the same is in engagement with the keeper on the second door, anV elevator, a controller arm on the elevator and means for automatically locking said controller arm when the lever is not supported in horizontal position. 1

5, The combination, with an elevator shaft with two oppositely hinged doors leading thereto, means for locking one door closed, a

combined latchand keeper pivoted to said door and adapted to swing below as well as above the horizontal plane of its pivot, a keeper on the otherrdoor adapted to be engaged by the combined latch and keeper on the first door when both` doors are closed, a

lever-.extending across the second door but 13()V f by said combined latch and keeper when the latter is 'engaged with the keeper on the sec- 0nd door, an elevator, a controller arm 0n the elevator and means for automatically locking said controller arm when the lever is not supported in horizontal position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN H. STEWART.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

